More than 450 unemployed Londoners will receive free training, land a job or a volunteer position as a result of Peabody Trust’s new programme, Sporting Chance.
Sporting Chance will give unemployed people, aged 16-65 years, the opportunity to get a job via the provision of free training and personal employment support from Peabody Trust.
Individuals will be able to access free IT training, qualifications, and job-search support at a range of local centres, which offer a secure environment for those taking their first steps into the workforce.
The scheme has received £490,000 of funding from the Mayor‘s London Development Agency (LDA) for the next three years as part of the LDA Opportunities fund.
Londoners can attend any of the eight participating Peabody learning centres, located in Benthal Green, Covent Garden, Clapham, Southwark, Hackney, West Silvertown and Wapping.
Peabody Trust will work in partnership with Football for Fun and Community Based Housing Association (CBHA) to deliver Sporting Chance. Together they will raise the awareness of work and volunteer opportunities that will be created by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Football for Fun will hold local sporting events for unemployed people, giving all the chance to sign up to the scheme on-site. CBHA will also conduct community outreach work and employment support.
All registered job hunters will be referred to a participating Peabody centre where they will receive one to one attention from their own consultant.
Peabody trainers will structure a course to suit individual needs, covering everything from personal development to basic training.
Peabody Trust Employment and Training Manager, Yasmin Hussain said: "Sporting Chance will boost employment in areas suffering from unemployment rates of up to 12 percent*, versus the national average of 5.3 percent*. By providing free skills and employment support, we hope to unite communities and raise local spirits".
Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone said: "The 2012 Games may be five years away, but the benefits are already being felt across London, because of Opportunities Fund projects such as Sporting Chance."
"Thanks to a £490,000 grant, Sporting Chance will provide training and support for residents in Hackney, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
"£11 million of Opportunities Fund grants will provide over 14,000 Londoners with the training and support they need to make the most of the huge opportunities brought by the London 2012 Games."
Rebecca Shepheard, Director of Delivery at the London Development Agency said: "We want local people to benefit from the huge employment opportunities that the 2012 Games will bring to the area. With events based at the heart of the community, the Sporting Chance initiative will highlight these opportunities whilst at the same time providing the support and training needed to get local people back into work."
-Ends-
For more information please contact Peabody Trust’s Media Relations Officer, Yasmin Noone, on (020) 70214210 or via email.
Contact Katy Atkins at the LDA media team on (020) 75938386 or email katyatkins@lda.gov.uk
Notes to editor:
-
Peabody Trust is one of London's largest and oldest housing associations, as well as being a charity and community regeneration agency. Founded by George Peabody, an American philanthropist, in 1862, the Peabody Trust Group now owns or manages over 20,000 properties across 27 London boroughs, housing nearly 50,000 people.
-
Sporting Chance is a three year project (Up to 2010) that works in partnership with CBHA (Community Based Housing Association) and Football for Fun.
-
The project is the result of an £11 million grant to Peabody Trust and other organisations from the London Development Agency’s Opportunities Fund (Engaging in London 2012), which aims to kick-start schemes to help London’s most disadvantaged and excluded communities.
-
The London Development Agency works to improve quality of life for all Londoners and drive sustainable economic growth.
Football for Fun will run sporting events at which beneficiaries will under go a simple self assessment and register at one of the participating Peabody centres for employment support and accredited Skills for Life and IT CLAIT qualifications.
-
CBHA will conduct community outreach work as well as provide Employment Support and refer beneficiaries to register at one of the participating Peabody centres for accredited Skills for Life and IT CLAIT qualifications.
-
CBHA is a community based housing association which owns more than 1,600 properties located in Waltham Forest. The CBHA was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Peabody Trust in 1996. Football for Fun is an innovative coaching organisation bringing quality soccer education to young people. Established for over five years, they provide a wide range of educational soccer programmes throughout south-east England.
*Figure is based upon figures for January - December 2006.
Source: National Statistics Website: www.statistics.gov.uk. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO.
